Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Hex Bar a.k.a. Trap Bar

Pro:
The Trap Bar Deadlift is possibly the best existing exercise for full body strength, athleticism, and muscle mass. It also seems safer than the similar squat and deadlift.

Con:
Expensive and bulky.


I got two different conflicting "minimalism" biases.

Exercise Minimalism; I prefer to spend all my exercise time on the highest bang-for-buck exercises.

Vs.

Equipment Minimalism; having less "stuff" eliminates moving costs and preserves living space.

how about using 2 dumbbells?
even better, because you need to stabilize your body by yourself

If and only if you can easily sell it again.

The answer depends on whether you've only done one sport in your life (in this case lifting) or you've done multiple. I've done multiple, so my answer is biased from that. I pick up sports and equipment on a regular basis thinking it's all BIFL material. As a result, I've ended up with a bunch of equipment much of which is not in use for this or that reason. Because of how specialized it is, it's often a pain to sell (I can't just walk into playitagain sports).

As such I'm increasingly gravitating towards equipment free or lightweight stuff. I'll choose silly rubberbands over weights. I'll even choose sports based on how little equipment they require. These choices are something my future self will appreciate.

So if you were me, you wouldn't buy it.

@Stahlmann
That's currently what I'm doing, but its awkward and the fear of smashing my knees is limiting the weight.

@jacob
Unfortunately, my experience has been that I get more injuries and less results from bodyweight-only than I do from lifting. My Naturalistic Fallacy bias would prefer that wasn't the case.

Ive been looking around for a used one, but I haven't found one locally, and even the ones I'd have to drive for are not *that* much cheaper.

Then there's the issue of having to change all my weight plates from 1in to Olympic....

Amazon sells a CAP trap bar for $100 with free shipping. I had one, sold it on Craigslist, I think for $60. So $40 cost of ownership, not bad.

I replaced it with the rogue bar, because I'm spoiled.

The CAP bar is too short to be racked in a standard width power rack. It also has short sleeves. With hitemp recycled rubber bumpers, I could only get about 250lbs on there.

Depending on the depth of your iron Olympic plates, I think you could get 400-500lbs in there.

I did need to smooth out the handles of the cap bar with sandpaper. The knurl was beyond rough, far too sharp to be useful, even with chalk.

A cool thing about the shorter bar, is you can stretch a band across it, and stand on it for accommodating resistance. Makes doing some speed work super easy, and is a good way to get more out of less weight.

I'd buy it, if you have a good source for the Olympic plates. They could cost more than the barbell. Bringing the weight closer to your center of mass is a lot easier on the joints.

If you get one, I also recommend it for bent rows, shrugs and farmers walks. I also had some luck racking mine on the sleeves for overhead presses.

Edited to add - the high and low handled version is worth the extra $15. You'll recover that on sale and it makes a lot of things work better.

jacob wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:38 pm

As such I'm increasingly gravitating towards equipment free or lightweight stuff. I'll choose silly rubberbands over weights. I'll even choose sports based on how little equipment they require. These choices are something my future self will appreciate.

Footbag, dance, and martial arts for the win.

No. Focus on learning proper barbell squat and deadlift form. As someone who recently had a 600lb pull and 455 parallel squat, I speak from experience that these are safe and effective with minimal need for specialized equipment.

@Scott 2
Walmart's got a high handle one online for $90. And a HulkFit for $100. Are you familiar with that model? Is it cheaper because it sucks?

@2B1S
I'm definitely not going to invest in a power cage. I use to have a squat rack, but maxing out on back squats while exercising alone was dangerous, and dropping the bar during front squats is bad for the resale value of my house.

All reasons I like the hex bar better.

Personally I like doing deadlifts with trap bars enough to buy one.

ThisDinosaur wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:26 am

@2B1S
I'm definitely not going to invest in a power cage. I use to have a squat rack, but maxing out on back squats while exercising alone was dangerous, and dropping the bar during front squats is bad for the resale value of my house.

You had a full rack? Or a half rack? In a full rack you have the safety bars. I use a safety squat bar for squats because I have reduced shoulder mobility due to surgery: Have you ever considered it? In addition to deadlifts you could also do hack squats with a barbell (before discovering the safety squat bar that's what I did)

The only low cost trap bar I've tried is the CAP model. They all look about the same in pictures. My Amazon history says it was $84 when I bought it. The price varies.

I hear you on the concerns over lifting alone at home. A trap bar deadlift is hard to screw up.

I'd rather buy a regular olympic bar, but if you really like trap bar deadlifts go for it, they aren't that expensive. Maybe ask around at local gyms to see if you can buy one of theirs.

Depends on how sure you are you will keep using it. I would say if you:
1. Have done deadlifts for years consistently and regularly and are sure you will continue this in the future, and
2. Have used a trap bar at least several times and strongly prefer it over an olympic bar

Then go for it. If, however, you have just seen it and think it will be cool... Then better try it out properly and get used to doing deadlifts with a standard bar you have first before upgrading it.

Trap bars work great for shrugs and farmer's carries too, with the latter being one of the more underrated exercises around.

If it's high-quality and part of a home gym, where you're already committed to using the stuff, I say go for it. Dealing with other people at the gym sucks. I mean even more than dealing with them everywhere else does.